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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

When I was in college at the University of Texas, I took a creative writing course for undergrads. My professor was involved in setting up a special lecture with novelist James Michener for her graduate students, and arranged for us to be included. She was pretty excited about it. The main thing I knew was that Michener was a famous novelist and journalist.

At the time, I had my future career all planned out: I would be a journalist until the income from my fabulously well-received novels allowed me to focus on them entirely. Since I had the impression that Michener had done this, I looked forward to what he had to say.

He did indeed address exactly this topic, but his words made my career plan flash before my eyes. His advice to young writers was to avoid mixing journalism and other writing; he said the daily drive to publish saps energy for other pursuits.

There was a meet and greet session afterward, where we starry-eyed undergrads mingled with the grad students and professors who had turned out to hear the great man speak. Most of us ended up in small groups talking to each other. As a sober undergrad, I was subtle in my efforts to express my reaction to Michener's words. I believe the way I put it at the time was that Michener had 'crushed my dreams.'

A professor whom I did not know told me not to worry about what Michener had said. "If it bothers you," he said, "remember that it's just one man's opinion."

Nearly all of what Michener said that day has long since fled my brain, though I've since come to believe he had a point about the stresses of journalism and how it could interfere with fiction writing.

But it's those kind words of perspective from a not-so-famous professor that I will never forget.